Tag Archives: indoor air quality

When a Buddhist community in Dallas started making plans for a new temple, cafeteria and dormitory, they wanted to create the healthiest and most ecological buildings possible. Inspired by the work of EcoNest® Company, they decided a mixture of straw and clay would be their primary building material.

While this combination is ideal for shaping and insulating walls, they also needed a product that would create a strong, durable and dry foundation (and, for the two-story dorms, strong bearing walls). They selected Faswall, a versatile ICF wall form that’s ideal for many types of projects. While Faswall’s easy-to-use blocks can be used to create DIY or contractor-built homes, office buildings, warehouses, outbuildings and other structures, they also make great foundations and basements for buildings crafted from other materials.

The leadership team in the Buddhist community liked Faswall because the concrete and wood blocks are made of 100 percent organic materials. Eighty-five percent of the wood in each Faswall block is clean, recycled pallet wood. It’s combined with virgin wood and Portland cement to create a product that will not off-gas chemicals into buildings.

“Many of our customers are interested in using the Faswall block to create healthy living environments,” says ShelterWorks co-owner Paul Wood. “They want indoor air quality that’s exceptional. Faswall creates an excellent vapor-permeable membrane that allows indoor air quality to be a natural part of the building and living experience.”

The vapor-permeable nature of the blocks is important when it comes to other factors that affect indoor air quality. Because of Faswall’s porous hygroscopic nature (i.e. the walls store and release water vapor through diffusion), the blocks keep relatively humidity levels low enough that mold spores don’t grow in the walls. That keeps potentially toxic mold out of your building.

Faswall’s ability to regulate relative humidity also keeps the structure more comfortable and livable. Most of the time, humidity is higher inside a home due to activities such as showering, cooking, even breathing. When a home has walls that don’t breathe, and therefore relies on mechanical ventilation to vacate moisture, the indoor air can become denser than the desired 30 to 40 percent humidity level. That leads to the heavy-feeling air we often experience in basements.

Faswall’s porosity allows excess indoor humidity to diffuse through the walls. With proper waterproofing, they don’t allow water to seep into structures. That’s why they’re great for foundations.

The other reason is that their mineralized wood composition makes them strong and durable. Faswall gives people building with straw bale, timber frame or clay/straw slipform a good base wall system to support upper walls.

The Dallas project isn’t the only time Faswall has been used to build a Buddhist temple. Check out this story and video of the Sravasti Abbey in Washington to see their beautiful structure, which is built entirely with Faswall blocks. Other religious congregations have also selected Faswall as their building material of choice.

Perhaps that’s not surprising. Faith helps comfort us in times of despair, celebrate in times of joy, slow down and reflect on the things that are important to us. Just as a belief system is a versatile tool for living, Faswall is a versatile tool for creating the places that nurture and protect us.

No matter what type of structure you’re thinking about building – and no matter what type of material you’re thinking about using – Faswall can play a role in your next project. Contact us today to learn more about using Faswall building blocks for churches, temples, foundations, homes, offices, commercial buildings, outbuildings and more.

An environmentally friendly home is also a people friendly one, and that’s something many people overlook. One of the most important ways to protect your family – and do a good thing for the environment – is to ensure you build a home with good indoor air quality.

This blog post shares some frightening statistics about how poor indoor air quality can affect you and your children’s health:

Indoor air quality is often two to five times worse than outdoor air quality.

The average American spends 90 percent of their time indoors. If you have poor indoor air quality, you’re inhaling pollutants 21 hours a day.

Poor indoor air quality is one of the main reasons for the increase in asthma and allergies among children.

If you’re planning to build a home from scratch, why not start with a building material made from 100% organic inputs that will not release poisons and toxins into your home? Faswall green building blocks are an ideal building material for people interested in creating homes with great indoor air quality. They’re manufactured from a combination of recycled wood and cement. That’s it – no glues, plastics, additives or other potentially harmful materials. A study by J.F. Straube, Ph.D. and J.P. deGraauw confirms that structures built with materials like Faswall do a great job of maintaining good indoor air quality.

Faswall green building blocks resemble giant cinder blocks. You dry stack them to make your walls, then pour pea gravel or concrete through the cores to hold the blocks in place. They take stucco, clay and other natural wall coverings without a lot of prep work.

If you want to use only natural, toxin-free materials to put together your home, Faswall makes it possible. And if you’re interested in building your own home, we’ve got you covered there too. Faswall green building blocks are ideal for DIY home builders because they are so easy to use.

Creating a home with good indoor air quality was extremely important to Kirstin Lynde and Michael Kolowich of Massachusetts. Kirstin was struggling with some health problems, and “I’m pretty convinced that air quality had something to do with it,” she says.

“It’s one thing to change your refrigerator content, but it’s another thing to change your house,” Michael says. Luckily he and Kirstin were already planning to build a new home, and stocking up on natural building materials was at the top of their priority list.

“We were trying to create what we thought was the healthiest house in New England,” Michael says. “I also wanted to prove you could have a home that was beautiful as well as healthy.”

As you can see from the pictures, Kirstin and Michael achieved their goal. Their 5,500 square foot home has 4 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, plus a guest cottage and a garage with a home office and TV room. Large windows let in plenty of light. A spacious kitchen and open living space provides plenty of space for entertaining. “This is a house that is very high functioning. There really are no compromises,” Michael says.

In addition to using Faswall blocks, Kirstin and Michael used wall boards made from all-natural materials, then applied American clay for a smooth finish. The materials will not off-gas volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other chemicals that can contribute to bad indoor air quality. Porcelain floors that look exactly like wood are another toxin-free material, and have the added benefit of reducing the risk of water damage if the floors get wet.

Cellulose insulation is considered lower in harmful chemicals than fiberglass, but it’s difficult to find one that won’t mold over time, Kirstin says. They compromised with foam insulation, which was applied in a thick layer under the roof and contributes to the home’s high R-value.

“In achieving energy efficiency you can sometimes sacrifice air quality,” Michael says. “There’s such thing as a house that’s too tight.” To ensure air could flow in and out of the house, they installed energy recovery ventilator (ERV) and heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) systems. The devices work together to move stale air out of the house and pull fresh air in – all while not losing any of the energy used to heat the home. The systems cycle air in and out of the house every three hours.

They heat the home with a combination of in-floor radiant heat and a masonry stove, avoiding ductwork that can harbor mold and degrade air quality. Firing up the stove for 3 hours heats the core of the house for up to 24 hours, Kirstin says. “We’ve cut our heating cost in half. I credit that to the superior insulation” provided by the one-foot-wide Faswall blocks. Even during Massachusetts’ extremely cold conditions in December 2014, their heating bill was only $100.

All their efforts paid off. Kirstin’s health problems have improved, and Michael no longer suffers from occasional sneezing fits. “The air inside the house smells really sweet,” he says. “People comment on it when they visit.”

Are you interested in building a home with great indoor air quality? What about an office building, warehouse, wine cellar or other commercial building? Faswall green building blocks work great for all types of structures. Please contact us for more information today.